Amped
by TurboloverJP
Summary: A drug gives non-metas metahuman strength. But who's supplying that drug?...
1. Chapter I

AMPED

Author's note: Wrote this one quick and late last night when the idea popped into my head. As usual, I don't feel it's a strong piece because it wasn't terribly thought out, but I'm just gonna go for it and post it to see what ya'll think.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Birds of Prey. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Rain mixes with my blood and splashes onto my clothes and onto the pavement beneath me. 

I'm sitting on a rooftop somewhere in the city, my back against a cool, brick wall. The rain washes over me and I don't even think about it. Hell, I don't even care. If it wasn't a hot summer night I'd probably be cursing against the cold and wetness, but today it feels almost comforting. Soothing.

It had been one hell of a night, not that most of them aren't when I'm out on "patrol." But this battle was a little harder to fight.

Barbara had sent me to a an old junk lot on the edge of the city because she'd gotten word of some new drug that was to be distributed and that was the meeting place. She didn't tell me what the drug was, just that I needed to get my ass down there, stop them from giving it out and bring the drug back to the tower so she could analyze it. Seemed like a simple plan but things got out of control, fast.

I climbed up on a stack of old cars to get a good view of the men that had gathered in a clear spot towards the middle of the lot. I counted five guys and sized them up. It didn't look like it would be a problem.

"Huntress, report."

With a heavy sigh I whispered my response. "I'm here. They just got here."

"How many?"

"Five. I'm going silent for a few minutes so I can get closer."

"Okay."

I heard the hesitation in Barbara's voice. I'd heard it before so I knew it well.

I turned my comm device off and quietly made my way closer to where the men were. I perched myself on the hood of what looked like an old Mustang and tried to plan my intrusion.

One of the men patted his pocket and smiled. This gave me the indication that it was about to go down. Sure enough, I was right. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial that contained a neon green fluid that looked like one of those Glo Sticks.

I stood up on the hood and leaped towards their area. My feet connected with the dusty, dirt ground as I landed hard and strong. "Guess you've never paid any attention to those egg in the frying pan commercials, huh?"

"Who the hell are you?" the man with the vial asked me.

"I'm your anti-drug," I answered with a lop-sided, sly smile. 

The two men that had come to get the drug took off running as if their asses were on fire. Then I saw vial man's sidekicks coming towards me. I spun around and kicked out towards one of them, hitting him in the jaw and then I felt rough hands grabbing me by the back of my jacket. I reached down and grabbed the man's leg and pulled. He crashed to the ground on his back and I kicked him in the groin, rendering him useless. To make sure he stayed down I gave him a kick to the head and knocked him out.

The other guy came at me again.

"What? You haven't had enough?"

He snarled at me and swung, missing me by a mile. I threw a swing of my own and missed but I swung a quick left hook and smacked him hard in the eye. While he was nursing his eye I punched him hard in the gut, sending him to his knees and then gave him a chop to the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

The vial man was watching the fight the entire time and stood there still holding the glowing fluid.

"You want some?" I asked as I approached him.

He took a few steps back and it looked like he was ready to pee his pants but he took the lid off the vial and emptied the fluid into his mouth. I stopped in my tracks and watched as he fell to his knees clutching the sides of his head and then his stomach. Grunting and panting he looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel.

I turned my comm back on. "Oracle, do you copy?"

"Go ahead."

"One of the guys just downed the drug."

"Dammit," she swore softly, but loud enough for me to hear.

"You want me to bring him in?"

"I'm sending Dinah for back up. In the meantime, stay AWAY from him. Keep an eye on him but don't get near him."

"So you know what the drug is? What the hell is it? Is it a virus or something?"

"No, it's..." 

Her words trailed off as my focus turned back to the guy who was now standing, his eyes glowing as green as the fluid he'd consumed.

"What the fu...."

He came at me with hurricane-like force, tackling me to the ground like a run-away freight train. I felt my bones rattle as I hit the ground with tremendous force. This little nerd of a man had now been transformed into a maniac!

He jammed his fist into my ribcage and I could have sworn I felt and heard something crack, but I didn't have time to think about it because he launched another fist towards my face, connecting with my eye. The sting indicated to me that he'd managed to split me open and the warm trickle of wetness down the side of my face confirmed it.

I tried like hell to gain the upper hand but he was so damn strong.

Before I knew it, he'd grabbed me by the front of my shirt, hauling me to my feet. He dragged me over to one of the cars and slammed me into it.

I sank to the ground, coughing and wincing. He didn't care for my pain. In fact, I think it fueled him because he grabbed me again and slammed me against the car over and over and over.

I was on the verge of passing out when it started to rain. It kept me somewhat alert but not enough to save my own ass.

He flipped me over his shoulder and took me to the entrance of the lot where his van was parked. Roughly, he threw me in the back and slammed the door.

I tried to get up and get over to the door but he started the van up and stomped on the gas, causing me to slam right into the back of the van, aggravating my battered body.

He didn't speak as we drove, just grunted like an animal.

I smashed into the walls of the van over and over as he sped through the streets like a madman and got to the point where I just let my body go limp. I was physically defeated. 

My comm must have been damaged in the fight because I wasn't hearing Barbara's voice booming in my ear, and there's no way she wouldn't be yapping away if she'd heard the struggle.

The van came to a stop and I heard the motor turn off. He got out of the van and came around back to open the door. That's when I gathered up all of my strength and got my legs around his neck when he came close to me. I squeezed as hard as I could despite the pain that coursed through my body. 

Still I squeezed.

His hands clawed at my legs to free himself but I wasn't giving up. That was until he pulled the switchblade out and jammed it into my thigh.

He got free and fell to the ground gasping for air and rubbing his neck and I got out of the van, limping away into the night.

I managed to get up to this rooftop where I know he wouldn't find me. So that's where I've stayed for the past half hour or so since making my escape.

I've been sitting here resting because I hurt and because I'm mad at myself for not being able to defend myself.

Looking out at the city skyline, I know exactly where I am. That's the advantage of my "job," knowing every inch of the city. It would really suck if I didn't know because in my current state I don't think I'd be able to figure out how to get home given my head felt like it was a mass of spider webbing.

I grunt in pain and let out a slight hiss as I stand up and begin limping across the roof. I get to the edge and debate about going down to the street level and walking the entire way or skipping across the rooftops which cuts the time in half. Of course, my leg and other parts of my body aren't going to like the jumping, but something inside me is begging to go home...NOW.

Backing up, I take a deep breath and run towards the ledge and jump off the side of the roof towards the adjacent roof. The weight on my wounded leg causes me to fall to the ground where I stay for a few moments. The wound has torn a little which means it's bleeding more. The rain that's mixing with my blood makes it appear even worse so it's hard to tell the truth of it's severity.

  
When I finally make it back to the tower I'm exhausted beyond words. Barbara's eyes grow wide when she sees me stumble into the room, doing my best to act as if nothing is wrong and I'm merely just a wet, sopping mess. But then I do the unthinkable. I feel my eyes roll back in my head and the darkness consume me. I hit the ground like a ton of bricks.

"Helena? Helena?"

I can hear a female voice calling to me off in the distance and then I feel a hand on my arm.

"Helena?"

Opening my eyes I see Barbara looking down at me.

"Good, you're awake. You had me worried. I thought for sure you'd slipped into a coma."

I squinted and winced as my entire body felt like one giant ache. "What the hell?"

"You took some harsh blows to the head," Barbara told me, as if I didn't know already.

"What kind of drug was that? The guy turned into a monster."

"It's some sort of super human drug that revs up your system and gives you meta-like powers."

"Great. First people don't want to be around metas and now they want to be metas? That's fucked up." I started to get up but stopped when the pain hit me.

"You're not going anywhere for a few days."

"Ugh," I grunted. "I can't believe I let him beat me like that."

"It's not your fault."

"I should have been able to at least keep up with him. Hell, I just about surrendered to him."

"You can't blame yourself. He was pumped up on this drug."

"What good am I out there if I can't even defend myself?" Anger began snaking through me as my frustration grew. 

I made another attempt at getting up and managed to at least sit up.

"Helena, you're NOT getting up. Please! You've got a concussion, two broken ribs, a bruised kidney, a bruised back and a nasty stab wound in your leg. You move from this bed and you're right, you WON'T be defending yourself because you won't be in any shape to do so."

I blocked her from my mind as I eased myself off the bed. I sucked my breath in as my leg began to throb with pain. Covering it with my hand, I began walking out of the room.

Naturally, she chased after me.

"Helena! Stop being so damn stubborn for once!"

"Barabara! Enough! I just want to be alone right now. Is that so much to ask?!?"

She didn't answer, which was a surprise and I didn't feel her behind me anymore.

I limped up to my room in the loft and gently eased myself down on the bed.

If there's anything I hated it was people bugging me when I was sick or hurt. Just the constant coddling drives me nuts.

Leaning back, I hug my ribs as they ache from the movement. Blowing out a breath, I close my eyes and wait for the pain to subside so I can concentrate on other things. But Barbara must have been right. I must have taken quite a beating because my body just shut down and I drifted off to sleep.

  
Someone's shaking me again. What the hell?!?

I open my eyes and see Dinah. 

"Helena. Don't tell Barbara that I told you, but you might want to come see this."

"What?" I ask, still groggy from my nap.

"Downstairs," she said as she quickly left the room.

I shook my head to try and clear it and then stood up. Limping out of the room I made my way downstairs and saw a body lying face down on the floor by Barbara's chair.

Squinting in confusion, I walked closer to find out who it was.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked as I approached.

"Helena!" Barbara snapped as she looked up and saw me coming. Immediately, she wheeled towards me, her hands out in front of her as if trying to block my way. "Go back upstairs and rest."

"Who's that?"

"Just go back upstairs. I'll take care of this."

I looked her in the eye and it became clear to me who it was.

Pushing past her, I stormed towards his body, ignoring the pain that was radiating from my wounds. I could feel my jaw tightening with anger and I made myself loosen up before I broke all of my teeth.

I kicked him onto his back with my foot and felt a lightening bolt of anger strike me when I saw his face - the vial man.

"Where'd you find the son-of-a-bitch?"

"Dinah picked him up. He'd collapsed last night after your encounter. He took too much of the drug and..."

"Awwwww, too fucking bad." My voice was coated with sarcasm as I gave him a swift kick to the ribs. "Doesn't feel too good, does it?"

His eyes opened slightly and I was happy that he was able to watch me kick his ass.

I reached down to grab his shirt in order to haul him up, but the pain in my ribs stopped me for a moment.

He smiled at me, noticing my pain and began to chuckle.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then re-opened them to reveal the cat-like orbs. Then with all my strength, I hauled him up and threw him into the wall. He slumped to the ground and I picked him up again, smashing him against the wall over and over.

"Helena! Stop!" Barbara yelled.

I hauled him close to my face. "Where's your knife you little bitch?"

He didn't answer.

I slammed his head against the wall and applied pressure as I pinned him. "Where is it? Or are you gonna try to stick me again? Huh? Answer me!"

Still no answer, just a sick laugh.

I let go of him and watched as he slumped to the floor in a heap.

"Go ahead," I taunted him, "Get your knife and come at me. I dare you!"

"Helena!" Barbara yelled again.

"Stay out of this, Barbara. This is unfinished business that I need to clean up."

"Stop it!" she urged as she wheeled between me and the pitiful loser. "Go back upstairs. Dinah?!?" she called out.

Dinah came to the head of the stairs.

"Get Helena back to her room and check her wounds."

"Let me do this, Barbara!"

"You're not going to..."

I looked up and saw him on his feet. The knife was in his right hand, still coated with my blood. Then he charged towards Barbara.

"No!!" I screamed.

Everything was a blur and happened so fast, even I didn't know what was happening at the time even though I was right there deep in the action.

"Oh God!" I heard Barbara say from beside me.

"Helena!" Dinah yelled out as she came over to me.

I was lying on the ground and he was on top of me. Yuck.

Dinah tore him off of me and dragged him away. Both she and Barbara didn't even look at him, they just looked at me in horror.

"He-Helena?" Barbara asked, her lips quivering.

I looked down at my chest and could see my hands and chest were covered with blood.

"Get me the kit!" Barbara screamed at Dinah.

"Wait. Wait," I said. "It's not mine," I said softly, gulping down a breath.

Dinah came back over to me, moving my hands away from the bloody spot on my chest, inspecting it for a wound.

"It's not my blood," I repeated.

They looked over at the guy on the floor who was impaled with the switchblade and a feeling of relief simultaneously washed over them both.

Barbara wheeled over to him and checked his pulse. "He's dead."

"No duh," I said with a hint of laughter. "Help me up."

Dinah helped me to my feet as best as she could.

"We need to check you out," Barbara instructed me as she looked me over. "Go to the lab and I'll meet you two there. I'll have Alfred clean up in here."

Dinah got me to the lab and helped me up on the table. 

"You okay?" she asked.

"Fine, kid."

All of a sudden she began to cry.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry, Helena."

"What for?"

She sobbed for a few minutes and then wiped her tears. "The drug he took...my mother helped develop it."

I know I'd literally been kicked in the gut but this felt a thousand times worse.

"What?"

"I remember hearing that she was working on a drug like that a few years ago. Because people hated Metas so bad, she thought that by creating a drug that gave people meta-like strength would help them understand us."

"That's fucked up!"

"A man she was seeing at the time had convinced her that they would turn all non-metas into metas so that everyone would be equal."

"Did you tell Barbara this?"

"NO!" Her answer came fast, furious and short.

"Well if you don't tell her I will."

"You can't!"

"Like hell. She needs to know. We need to see if there's more of that shit or..."

"Everything okay in here?" Barbara asked as she entered the room.

"Fine," Dinah said, glaring at me.

I glared back at her and debated over and over in my head whether to spill the beans or not.

"Helena? You okay?"

"Yeah. Let's just get this over with."

Dinah left the room and Barbara could sense the tension. A moron could have detected it, it was so thick.

"You sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," I said through a clenched jaw. "Just feel like hell is all."

I knew she didn't believe me but now wasn't the time to clear things up. I had a more pressing issue on my mind.


	2. Chapter II

  
A week had passed since Dinah had informed me of her mothers involvement with the drug that guy had ingested.

Barbara managed to keep me out-of-commission for a good part of the week by pumping all sorts of drugs into me to keep me sedated and still. I hate it when she does that and she knows it.

Now that my wounds have healed somewhat, I've been going out on "light" sweeps. Dinah's been covering most of the slack. Normally I'd be bitching like nobody's business but it's actually worked out to my advantage.

You see, I've been doing some detective work on Dinah's dear deceased mother in order to find out more about this drug and who's behind it's continued creation. With Dinah on sweeps and me all nestled safe in the warmth of my own bed, yeah right, I've managed to get a name....Jack Culver. He and Carolyn had worked together some years ago and his name kept popping up with people I've talked to.

It's late, Dinah's out doing her thing and Barbara thinks I'm working a shift at the bar for my ailing friend Jennifer. In reality, I'm standing in front of the door to Jack's apartment. Obviously his work hasn't made him much money because he's living in filth. If his apartment is anything like the hallway I'd be forced to pity the man. 

I put an ear to his door and try to hear any movement from inside but it's hard to hear over the constant yelling of the couple next door who are airing their dirty laundry for all the world to hear. I'm almost tempted to bust down their door and punch them both in the mouth in order to get them to shut the hell up.

It's impossible to hear whether Jack is in there or not at this point, even with my sensitive hearing, so I'm just going to wing it.

I take a few steps back and then charge at the door, kicking it with my foot, sending it crashing down to the floor. A cloud of dirt and dust flies into the air giving my grand entrance a more menacing feel, but the feeling is lost on only me because he's not here.

It was actually convenient that the couple had been yelling because they'd masked my grand entrance. Now I'm happy I didn't pop them in the mouth.

I check all two of the rooms, which includes the bathroom, and he's no where to be found. The windows are shut so he didn't make an escape, I just have really bad timing.

Looking around the dump I feel compelled to offer the pity I'd previously mentioned. This place is disgusting. I've been in my share of dives but this one could very well top the list.

There are dirty dishes in the sink that look like they've been there for months. The flies are what give me that indication. I'm surprised there are no ro...wait. Never mind. There are roaches. There's some sort of conga line of them around the edge of the counter top near the refrigerator. They must know of some secret passage into the fridge that's not visible to the human eye.

I almost don't want to open the fridge, afraid of what my fly, tumble or spray out, but curiosity gets the better of me.

With the tip of my index finger, I hook it around the handle and pull. No way was I going to put my whole hand on that handle. God only knows what's on it!

I'm almost knocked off my feet from the powerful odor that's now been released into the room. Putting my jacket sleeve over my mouth and nose I fight the urge to gag.

The fridge is empty of food, except for something that looks like it may have been a hunk of cheese, a very old bucket of KFC chicken and a carton of milk that had so much mold on it, it looked like a Banzai Tree.

Maggots, flies, roaches and other nasty little creatures were in their glory. There were thousands of them. It was like an amusement park of insects that had festered on a gold mine. I seriously feel like tossing my cookies.

I kick the door shut and hope at least the odor will dissipate. There's no help for the visual that's forever scared my mind, but whatever.

Quickly, I head towards what's supposed to be the living room I would assume. There's a couch that's full of holes and stains. Not even gonna go there. The springs are visible on the left side and some of the foam is scattered on the floor.

I walk over to it, trudging through a mass of dirty laundry, newspapers, take-out food containers and various other items I don't even want to think about. It looks like someone intentionally pulled the couch apart judging by the way the foam was thrown on the floor all in one place.

Looking closer down into the hole something catches my eye. "Bingo!" A vial of the green fluid is tucked inside towards the front of the couch.

A few scenarios swirled around my head: the vial rolled down there and was forgotten when the others were pulled out or the vial was hidden there intentionally. 

I tucked the vial into my pocket for safe keeping and turned around to search the bed. More roaches had claimed their territory there. I'd always heard that they were one of the cleanest insects on the planet but I'd have to beg to differ.

Taking my foot, I maneuvered the mattress off the box spring. 

"Well, what do we have here?"

Reaching down, I picked up the Polaroid of Carolyn and Jack that had been sandwiched between the mattress and box spring. There was no date on it but my guess is that it was at least ten years old. The two of them looked pretty chummy from the way she had her arms around him. Interesting.

I continued my inspection of the apartment and struck gold again, this time in the bathroom, of all places.

Inside the tank of the toilet, there was a baggie duct taped to the side full of papers: receipts, invoices and handwritten notes full of chemical jargon that was way over my head.

Satisfied that I had enough to go on for now, I exited his apartment and headed to my own. 

***

The following night, I went on sweeps with Dinah for part of the night - per Barbara's instructions. 

It was awkward, to say the least. We hadn't spoken since the night she'd told me about the drug and her mother's involvement and now that I had more pieces to the puzzle I felt the awkwardness between us even stronger.

"Don't feel like you have to babysit me or something," she snapped, out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

"I'm capable of taking the entire sweep shift by myself. Not sure why Barbara feels that I need you to tag along."

If that wasn't a cold front moving in then I don't know what it was. A huge part of me wanted to beat her snippy little ass. This was MY watch, MY territory, MY city and MY shift. How dare she make it seem like she could even fill my shoes. 

"Keep it up and maybe I'll have that talk with Barbara after all. I'm sure she'd love to hear all about your mother's diabolical plan."

She was in my face in a matter of seconds. This was a Dinah I'd never seen before.

"DON'T you dare speak of my mother in such a tone. Your mother was no Betty Crocker either, or have you forgotten?"

Yep. She was inches away from eating my fist, but Dr. Quinn would be proud. I swallowed the physical anger and did my best to keep it down.

"You're the one that told me about your mother and how sorry you were for her. Now all of a sudden you want it to all go away and be okay? Just because you..."

"Shut up! I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Glancing at my watch I saw that it was late. Perfect timing. "I gutta go anyway."

I got up on the ledge of the roof and jumped off. The cool air that whooshed into my face calmed me down a little.

When I got to street level I headed for an old meat packing plant on the outside of town. The address had been written on all of the receipts and invoices I'd found at Jack's apartment so I decided to check it out. But there was one thing I had to do first...

"Oracle?"

"Go ahead, Huntress."

"I'm just checking in before I sign off for the night. Dinah's over on the market place roof in case you're wondering."

"I've been trying to get in touch with her for about a half hour. She's got her comm off again. You have to stop teaching her things like that."

"ME?!? I didn't tell her to do that."

"Well, we'll deal with it later. How are your ribs and thigh?"

"A little sore still but they'll be fine in a day or so."

"Ya know, I have to say that I'm really impressed with your cooperation over the past week."

Oh, here we go.

"I know it's not easy for you to take my orders sometimes, but you know I'm just looking out for you."

I'd hate to kill her Hallmark moment but if she only knew that I was just doing it in order to do some investigative work she'd freakin' kill me.

"I know I'm a pain in the ass sometimes," I say.

"Sometimes?"

"Very funny."

"Have a good night."

"See you tomorrow."

I turned off my comm and continued on my way to the meat packing plant.

***

When I arrived, I found the place all boarded up. The edges of the windows were charred, indicating that there'd been a fire.

The building looked pretty secure, however. I climbed up to the roof and despite some holes here and there, it was stable.

I climbed down into one of the holes and prayed that when I landed I didn't fall straight through the floor, but luck was on my side for once.

The wood of the floor was dirty and water stained from the fire fighters that had put the fire out. The smoky smell wasn't very distinct. I don't recall any fire in this area so it must have been quite some time ago.

I got to the first floor and found nothing but charred wood, burned equipment and lots of ash and dust.

As I walked along the floor, the clacking of my boots gave off a hollow sound all of a sudden. Looking down, I brushed the dirt around and saw a metal square that looked out of place from the surrounding cement.

Kicking the dirt around some more, I found a small chain. Pulling on it, the metal square slid away and revealed a hole.

I reached into my pocket and took out a small flashlight and shined it down into the hole. There was a ladder on the side and it looked like a tunnel.

Wasting no time, I climbed down the ladder and shined the light forward. The light lit up the long hallway so I slowly walked forward.

Getting to the end of the hallway, it appeared to be a dead end. Concrete bricks in front of me, to my left and to my right. Seemed odd.

I shined the flashlight all around the wall and towards the ceiling and that's when I saw the short pull-chain covered in spider webs that was in the corner. I couldn't help but scrunch up my face as I put my hand in the webbing and pulled the chain. The wall in front of me slid forward and revealed a small room that contained a wooden desk, some metal tables, a few computers, lab equipment and various other nerdy stuff.

I walked in and checked everything out, taking notice of the notes tacked on the wall near a set of glass beakers. The sequence looked a little familiar so I took out the papers I'd found at Jack's apartment. Sure enough, they were the same chemical equations. This must be the pattern for the drug.

There wasn't much dust on the equipment in the room which led me to believe that everything was still in use. So either Jack or the vial man had been here recently. Someone must have cooked up a batch of this shit and sent it out for distribution.

I opened the small cabinet that was sitting on the floor under a table and my face lit up green from the glow that emitted from it. It was packed full of vials of the drug.

I grabbed the back of the cabinet and ripped it from the wall, tossing it to the floor with force. The vials smashed into thousands of pieces and the drug spilled onto the floor in a large neon green puddle.

"What are you doing!" I heard a female voice squeal behind me.

I whipped around and was shocked to see Carolyn standing there, her eyes wide with horror.

"What have you done!!" she croaked as she pulled out a gun and aimed it at me.

"Why did you do this, Carolyn?"

Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"I worked SO HARD on this project and you've just destroyed MONTHS of work!!"

Before I could say something I found a red-hot bullet embedding itself in my shoulder, sending me backwards from the force and knocking me to the ground.

I laid there motionless for a moment, digesting what had just happened as I stared up at the ceiling.

"I can't believe you of all people wouldn't support my cause," Carolyn said to me as she appeared above me, her gun aimed at me once again.

I heard the snap of the hammer being cocked back.

"DON'T even think about trying anything because I WILL shoot you again. Now get up!"

I sat up and she handcuffed my hands to the metal table that was bolted into the ground. Great. This escape wasn't going to be so easy.

"What'd you do with Jack?"

Her head snapped up and she froze for a moment, stunned by the mention of his name. "Jack?"

"You know, lives in filth, has noisy neighbors...that Jack."

She ignored my question for a few minutes while she dug through her backpack and pulled out a bomb. Setting it down gently on the metal table that I was cuffed to, she licked her lips in satisfaction as she looked at it.

"So...where is he?" My voice contained a hitch as the pain in my shoulder began to become quite an annoyance. It was bleeding heavily and was burning like a bitch.

"Jack tried to take all of this away from me and claim it as his own."

"So you killed him, is that it?"

"Something like that. He even got his son involved. How's that for a family business."

The pieces were started to fit. "Lemme guess, nerdy looking boy, early twenties, reddish blonde hair, buzz cut, blue eyes."

"You know Michael? Where is that son-of-a-bitch?"

"Hmm, looks like me may have to make a deal."

"No deals," she said, grabbing the gun and pointing it at me again.

"Then I guess I can't tell you where he is."

That was the wrong thing to say because the butt of the gun cracked against the side of my eye, re-opening the fragile flesh of the wound that was just about healed.

"Don't fuck with me, Helena."

I thought the circle of stars that swirled above cartoon characters heads was fake but since I was now experiencing it first-hand I had to change my view on that.

Carolyn continued to hook up the bomb and get it set. When I heard the beeping sound I couldn't help but flinch.

"Boom!" she teased as she gathered her backpack and slid it onto her back. "Sorry, Helena. I've gutta move locations now that you've invaded this one."

"You're not gonna get away with this."

"That's right, you're not."

I looked up towards the doorway and saw Dinah standing there, hands on her hips and a pissed off look plastered on her face.

"D-Dinah," Carolyn stammered. "She-she tried to kill me, I had to cuff her to the table and..."

"Disarm the bomb, NOW!" Dinah demanded.

Carolyn's eyes darted back and forth between me and Dinah as she backed up, reaching behind her back.

"Dinah! She's got a gun!"

Carolyn fired the gun in Dinah's direction and I couldn't see whether the kid had been struck or not. I heard her hit the ground with a grunt, but the table blocked my view.

Another shot rang out and the lights went out.

"Dinah!" I screamed. I tried not to move in order to keep from setting the bomb off but it was killing me not to be in the action.

Both women had run out of the room and I could hear more shots and a struggle on the floor above me. The feeling of not knowing what was going on was pure agony.

I leaned forward and rested my forehead on the leg of the table, closing my eyes, listening to the sounds above. Then they stopped.

I waited for a few minutes, holding my breath, listening to the thick silence.

"Dinah!" I called out. No answer.

"Shit," I swore out loud as I slowly got to my knees to look at the bomb on the table. I had five minutes to figure out how to get out of here and it wasn't looking good. Every time I tried to move my hands the table shook. I was a sitting duck.

I heard footsteps approaching the room and felt my body tense up for an attack.

A beam of light shined in my eye and I squinted.

"Helena!"

"Dinah?"

"I'm here," she said as she came to my side, her face bloody and battered from her own mother's hands. And people say my mother was a bitch?

"We only have a few minutes to get out of here before the bomb goes off."

"Let me try and get these cuffs off."

She struggled to focus her powers on the cuffs but it was clear that she'd suffered some sort of head injury and was unable to concentrate.

"I...I'm sorry," she trembled as she continued to force her focus.

The timer was down to fifty seconds.

"Leave me!" I said.

"NO!" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Go, Dinah. Just go. Save yourself!"

"I can't leave you and I won't!!"

My heart was beating a million miles an hour and the adrenaline rush had masked every ounce of pain I was supposed to be feeling.

"Dinah!!!"

"Helena!!"

She grabbed me in a tight embrace as the timer ran down and I squeezed my eyes shut waiting for the impact.

Time stood still.

Everything was frozen.

"Helena?" I heard Reese's voice calling.

"Helena?!?" 

It got louder and louder.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I suddenly felt his hands on me.

Opening my eyes I realized it wasn't a dream. "Reese?"

"Dinah? You alright?"

Dinah let go of me and moved away. "Yeah," she mumbled in response.

He drew in a breath and blew it out. "You guys cut it way too damn close this time." He picked up the bomb from the table and held it up so we could see the timer. It was flashing and stopped at 2.

"How the hell?"

"Barbara jammed the frequency from outside and stopped it," he explained as he took my cuffs off and gingerly inspected the bullet wound in my shoulder. "Let's get you two out of here."

***

Channel surfing had to be one of the most boring activities on record. I've been doing it for over an hour and have had enough.

Getting up out of bed, which I wasn't supposed to be doing, but whatever, I went downstairs to see what Barbara and Dinah were up to.

I found them playing a board game at the kitchen table so I decided to join them, at least to offer strategic support if anything.

"You know you're not..."

"Don't," I said, holding up a hand.

Easing myself down on the chair I sighed.

"Who's winning?"

"Dinah here has managed to own every house on the block and also conned me into being the banker."

"That's got trouble written all over it."

Dinah did her best to try and defend herself. "What? I'm not cheating!"

Barbara cleared her throat and smiled.

I sat there and watched them play, thankful that no one brought up the subject of Dinah's mother or the events over the past week. I'm sure it'll eventually come up and we'll have a lot to dish out, but for now it's nice to not have to talk shop in order to feel like...family.

  
END


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